NOEL Hunt, the Waterford born
striker who joined Ipswich Town
from Leeds United during the course
of last season has made it known he
is still feeling the pain of losing to
Norwich City in the semi final of the
Championship play-off.
The Canaries duly went on to defeat
Middlesbrough in the final to regain
their place in the Premier League.
Noel came on as an 83rd minute
substitute in the second leg at Carrow
Road, a game Ipswich lost 3-1 after
the first leg had finished level at 1-1.
At present Noel and his brother
Stephen are in limbo because the
two brothers have yet to be offered a
deal at Portman Road by the manager
Mick McCarthy although there is a
possibility the duo may be offered
terms before the end of June.
Noel wrote the following on his
blog following the disappointment
of losing out on a chance to play
with the Tractor Boys at Wembley. “I
remember when I went out to warm
up a couple of times one of Norwich’s
older fans, mid 50’s was shouting
abuse at me. When the full-time
whistle blew their fans invaded the
pitch. As I walked across the pitch to
applaud our supporters I could hear
him on the pitch shouting at me. I
thought just give me one chance. I then
thought, no, leave it. I walked over to
our fans who were superb throughout
the season. We owed it to the fans to
applaud them and I threw my jersey
into them. As I turned around that
guy was there again and he wanted to
square up to me and I thought “right
just hit him, just hit him as hard as you
can”. As I go to fl inch, a hand grabs
me. It’s Stephen. He says “just leave
it!”. I don’t even know where Stephen
came from. That would have been the
worst thing I could have ever done’’.
Noel continued. “You can go into the
play-offs very naive. What I mean is
that I never thought for one second
that it could be the of our season.
The anger and frustration after the
game was overwhelming. With this
bunch of players, with this manager,
with my brother it wasn’t just the end
of the game, it was the end of one of
the most enjoyable seasons ever as a
player. Sitting in the dressing room
with your friends who have tears in
their eyes is tough. Play-offs can be
cruel. They can be the best feeling
in the world or the worst. I don’t
know where I will be next season. I
don’t know if it’s my last game with
Stephen. I’ve just felt empty since that
final whistle and still do. This club for
me ticks all the boxes. That’s something
that doesn’t come round that
often so when it does you need to take
full advantage. I will take a break for
a few weeks and see what options are
there. Hopefully I will see the boys
again. If not it will be onto the next
chapter”.
